Howlett, P. Fighting with Figures London: HMSO, 1995

If you want to know any statistics about the Second World War, then this is the place to look! The Central Statistical Office arose out of the Ministry of Information, which was formed at the outbreak of the Second World War (after a lot of pre-war planning)and this book is a result of all the information held!

Areas covered include population, health, crime, housing, employment, agricultural and other production statistics, along with financial figures. But the book is not ALL 'dry' statistics. Before diving into the figures, each chapter begins with a few pages explaining the relevance of the statistics, and therefore why it was of interest to the State to collect such information.

Useful for those who need to back up their information with some quantitative information!

"Fighting with Figures first published as Statistical Digest of the War (1951) is an informative and historical book which gives a unique insight into how Britain and its economy cope during the Second World War. In addition to recording activity on the Home Front Front in major areas of crime, production, health and welfare, the book also gives figures on how agriculture responded to the demands to produce more food and the the aircraft industry produced the planes that played so vital a part in the victory. The book also measures the volumes of trade brought to war-torn Britain from overseas." Statbase